Play with the Penguins

While in Antarctica, the most common expectation is to be able to see penguins and get up close with them. And yes! This will be possbile on multiple occasions. Also to clear the misconception that many people hold, you will NOT be able to find polar bears in Antarctica since they are only found in the Northern polar regions. Also many expect to find penguins as shown in the Disney movie Happy Feet, but sadly even those (Emperor Penguins) cannot be found unless you take an icebreaker expedition trip to the center of the Antarctic island. The most common species you will come across are the Adelie , Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins. Each of these having their own peculiar features and sizes. During the month of January, I was fortunate enough to see penguins participate in their mating rituals which include the mating call, formation of the nest and intercourse. The rules enforced are that you are not allowed to go within 5 feet of penguins, but you can stand still at a spot and if they approach you or touch you, it is allowed. Seeing penguins slide, play and fight is a joyous and memorable sight to witness. Apart from the memories that you collect there, you will also bring back the pungent penguin poop smell to your cruise ship rooms as a large portion of the land that spans the penguins colonies is covered in poop.